On December 30 night, in a grave far-off from his residence in Pulwama, Mushtaq Ahmad buried his 16-year-old son. He had dug up one other grave in his native village, however the authorities refused handy over the physique, as a part of its coverage concerning alleged militants. On Monday, a crying Mushtaq demanded that Athar’s physique be given to him. “I have already died… Give me my child or bury me there (with him),” he stated.
Athar was among the many three youths killed in an alleged encounter in Srinagar within the intervening evening of December 29 and 30, in an operation primarily based on Army inputs and later joined by the police and CRPF. The Army stated they have been responding to info concerning a deliberate assault. The forces stated the three have been overground militant staff, although they didn’t determine in any official record of terrorists, and that they have been repeatedly given an opportunity to give up, however saved firing. All the three have been buried collectively.
However, the households have claimed the youths, together with the son of a Head Constable and the brother of two police officers, have been harmless and killed in a staged gunfight. The police have assured a probe within the matter. While Athar and Ajaz Ahmad, the son of a Head Constable, have been each from Pulwama and knew one another, it’s not recognized in the event that they have been acquainted with the third youth killed, Zubair Ahmad, belonging to Shopian. Ajaz’s father Mohammad Maqbool stated, “We can’t trust them (the security forces).”
On Monday, the J&Ok Police launched two movies on Twitter, during which forces will be seen making bulletins in the course of the “encounter”, asking the three youths to give up. However, there isn’t a response or any sound of firing from the opposite facet. The police tweet stated, “On 29/12/20 evening after the cordon at Hokersar, troops are repeatedly appealing the trapped terrorists to come out and surrender with assurances that they will not be harmed… At Hokersar on 30/12/2020 in the morning hours, troops are once again appealing the trapped terrorists to come out… and surrender.”
In an announcement after the encounter, General Officer Commanding of the Army’s Kilo Force H S Shahi had stated that when instructed to give up, the militants had opened hearth. The police didn’t reply to queries in regards to the video.
At a protest held in Srinagar on Monday, by households, family and neighbours of the youths who demanded a probe into the killings, Mushtaq stated, “I want justice. I don’t need money. I only want the body of my son. To whom do I express (my feelings)? Do the people of India not listen? I want my son. He was only 16.”
A Class 11 scholar, Athar was the youngest of the three killed. All had been at residence hours earlier, a truth the households repeated to contest the declare that they have been militants.
Constable Mohammad Shafi Lone, whose youthful brother Zubair, 20, was killed within the shootout, stated, “Zubair was home that day till 2 pm. How could he have become a militant within two hours?” Zubair was within the development enterprise and ran a shuttering firm in partnership. Both Lone and one other brother are Constables within the J&Ok Police’s Armed Wing.
Lone added that no safety company had any data on Zubair, and stated their killing was much like the Shopian encounter during which three Rajouri labourers had been labelled militant and killed. An Army officer and two civilians have been named within the chargesheet filed by the J&Ok Police within the Shopian case.
Ajaz’s father Mohammad Maqbool is posted in Ganderbal. Ajaz, 22, was a graduate scholar. Speaking to The Indian Express, the Head Constable stated, “We can’t trust them. We saw that in Amshipora (Shopian). They were all innocent. I contacted several officials to get the body of my son but I was told that there are orders from the top not to hand over the bodies. Now I appeal to the Lieutenant Governor that we should get justice.”
Talking in regards to the video launched by the J&Ok Police on Monday, a relative requested why no one may very well be heard from inside the home the place the three youths have been allegedly hiding. “Whom were they asking to surrender in that video? If you see closely, there is no gunshot from inside, so how can you say if there was anyone alive inside or not?”
The relative additionally requested why the police had launched the video and never the Army. “The police are trying hard to protect the Army.”
Former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has demanded that the our bodies of the youths be handed over to their households. Backing this, ex-CM and National Conference chief Omar Abdullah requested LG Manoj Sinha to carry a probe.
